Featured Research

from universities, journals, and other organizations

'Super' enzyme protects against dangers of oxygen

Date:

January 29, 2013

Source:

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Summary:

Just like a comic book super hero, you could say that the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD1) has a secret identity. Since its discovery in 1969, scientists believed SOD1’s only role was to protect living cells against damage from free radicals. Now, researchers have discovered that SOD1 protects cells by regulating cell energy and metabolism.

Share This

Just like a comic book super hero, you could say that the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD1) has a secret identity. Since its discovery in 1969, scientists believed SOD1's only role was to protect living cells against damage from free radicals. Now, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have discovered that SOD1 protects cells by regulating cell energy and metabolism. The results of their research were published January 17, 2013, in the journal Cell.

Related Articles

Transforming oxygen to energy for growth is key to life for all living cells, which happens either through respiration or fermentation. When oxygen is plentiful, respiration normally takes over; however certain cells fail to respire in spite of abundant oxygen and instead ferment, leading to uncontrolled cell growth -- a hallmark of cancer.

Using the baker's yeast S. cerevisiae as well as a human cell line, researchers Valeria C. Culotta, PhD, and colleague Amit Reddi from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology determined that SOD1 transmits signals from oxygen and glucose to repress respiration. This signaling is accomplished through SOD1 protection of another enzyme known as casein kinase 1-gamma (CK1γ), which is an important key to the switch between respiration and fermentation.

"SOD enzymes are present in virtually all living cells, from the most ancient bacteria to every cell in the human body," explained Culotta. "I've been telling my students to think of SOD1 as a superhero. It not only defends cells from damaging free radicals, but also has a secret life as a guardian of cell energy and metabolism."

"Our findings provide new clues as to how rapidly dividing cells -- from yeast to human cancers -- may escape the urge to respire and instead choose fermentation to promote rapid growth," said Culotta.

"SOD1 has long been recognized as an important enzyme in protection from oxidative stress, but this work establishes an important new function for the enzyme in cellular metabolism," said Vernon Anderson, PhD, of the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which partly funded the study. "The results provide important insight into how SOD1 and oxygen radicals push cellular energy metabolism towards fermentation, a feature of some disease states, including cancer."

"SOD1 Integrates Signals from Oxygen and Glucose to Repress Respiration" was written by Amit R. Reddi and Valeria C. Culotta.

The research was supported by the JHU National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences Center and from the National Institutes of Health grants GM050016 and GM093550.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "'Super' enzyme protects against dangers of oxygen." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 January 2013. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130129171337.htm>.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. (2013, January 29). 'Super' enzyme protects against dangers of oxygen. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 31, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130129171337.htm

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "'Super' enzyme protects against dangers of oxygen." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130129171337.htm (accessed March 31, 2015).

Featured Research

Mar. 31, 2015  Researchers have illuminated an important distinction between mice and humans: how human livers heal. The difference centers on a protein called PPAR alpha which activates liver ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  Researchers have recorded the first direct observations of the micro-scale mechanisms behind the ability of skin to resist tearing. The results could be applied to the improvement of artificial skin, ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  Fewer than half of the physicians trained in the United States in 2013 received formal education or training on the subject of exercise, according to new research. "There are immense medical benefits ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  Memory and as well as connections between brain cells were restored in mice with a model of Alzheimer's given an experimental cancer drug, researchers report. "With this treatment, cells under ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  Increasing state alcohol taxes could prevent thousands of deaths a year from car crashes, say researchers, who found alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes decreased after taxes on beer, wine and ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  Alcoholism takes a toll on every aspect of a person's life, including skin problems. Now, a new research report helps explain why this happens and what might be done to address it. "The clinical ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  A new population of 'memory' immune cells has been discovered by scientists, throwing light on what the body does when it sees a microbe for the second time. This insight, and others like it, will ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  Coronary heart disease and stroke, two of the leading causes of death in the United States, are diseases associated with heightened platelet reactivity. A new study in humans suggests an underlying ... full story

Mar. 31, 2015  A new study had researchers seeking answers to why the therapeutic benefit afforded by SSRIs was so limited in children and teenagers. If researchers can uncover the biological mechanisms preventing ... full story

Featured Videos

Solitair Device Aims to Takes Guesswork out of Sun Safety

Reuters - Innovations Video Online (Mar. 31, 2015)  The Solitair device aims to take the confusion out of how much sunlight we should expose our skin to. Small enough to be worn as a tie or hair clip, it monitors the user&apos;s sun exposure by taking into account their skin pigment, location and schedule. Matthew Stock reports.
Video provided by Reuters

Soda, Salt and Sugar: The Next Generation of Taxes

Washington Post (Mar. 30, 2015)  Denisa Livingston, a health advocate for the Dinι Community Advocacy Alliance, and the Post&apos;s Abby Phillip discuss efforts around the country to make unhealthy food choices hurt your wallet as much as your waistline.
Video provided by Washington Post

S. Leone in New Anti-Ebola Lockdown

AFP (Mar. 28, 2015)  Sierra Leone imposed a three-day nationwide lockdown Friday for the second time in six months in a bid to prevent a resurgence of the deadly Ebola virus. Duration: 01:17
Video provided by AFP

Related Stories

Oct. 23, 2014  Using a technique that illuminates subtle changes in individual proteins, chemistry researchers have uncovered new insight into the underlying causes of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ... full story

Mar. 31, 2014  A new function discovered for a long-studied enzyme could have implications for the diagnosis and treatment of some cancers and neurological disease, new research shows. The work involves superoxide ... full story

Feb. 18, 2014  The fatal neurodegenerative disease ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, has been under investigation by researchers, and in particular, how it spreads. New findings suggest that ... full story

Aug. 15, 2013  Muscle cells did not diminish in mice lacking a protective antioxidant protein, but they were weaker than normal muscle cells. The finding could inform future research of sarcopenia, which is ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.